Hayward Pool Heater

[xnotenoughx]

I just bought a house that has a Hayward pool heater. I have never owned a pool with a heater so I have some basic questions I am hoping someone can answer for me:

1- The pool heater is Hayward but I am unsure of the specific model. Does anyone know where I can find a model number or tag? I do not see one externally so is it inside?

2- My pool is at about 70 degrees and initially I set the pool heater to 85 and let it run for a few hours. When I reached into the pool and felt the return lines the water felt warmer, but not as hot as I would expect. Is this normal?

3- How often does the heater need to be run/should be run?

4- How expensive (natural gas) is to heat the pool now to around 84 when it still is getting into the 50s sometimes at night (Atlanta, GA)?

5- The down temperature arrow on my heater does not respond. I tried pressing the up arrow hoping it would hit 104 which is the max temp and then cycle back down, but it did not and is now stuck at 104. Is it safe to run the heater set to 104? I only want the water in the low 80s so I figured I could just turn the heater off when that temperature is reached, correct?

6- I also saw another forum where someone had a similar issue with the arrow not working and it was suggested to get a replacement keypad (FDXLBKP1930). Does anyone have experience with this and is it what I need to do? Is it hard to install?

Thanks for any info!

 

[BoDarville]

xnotenoughx:

Welcome to TFP

I don't have this particular model, but I'll take a stab at a couple of your questions...

2- My pool is at about 70 degrees and initially I set the pool heater to 85 and let it run for a few hours. When I reached into the pool and felt the return lines the water felt warmer, but not as hot as I would expect. Is this normal?

Yes, it should feel warm but not hot.

4- How expensive (natural gas) is to heat the pool now to around 84 when it still is getting into the 50s sometimes at night (Atlanta, GA)?

Depends on several factors such as the size of your pool, BTU output of the heater, wind, ground temperature, and whether the pool is covered as it's being heated. To figure your cost, take a look at your natural gas bill and see how the gas company bills you. Usually, it is in Therms, MCF or CCF. Here's a handy guide to some of the abbreviations used in the natural gas industry: http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=45&t=8

For example, I am billed in CCF (100 cubic feet) at a rate of $0.569. There are 102,300 BTU in one CCF. So I would figure my cost to run the heater as follows:

• 1. Figure cost per BTU: $0.569 cost per CCF / 102,300 BTU per CCF = $0.00000557 per BTU
  2. Take BTU of heater (mine is 400,000 BTU) and multiply by cost per BTU figured in step 1: 400,000 * $0.00000557 = $2.23 per hour
  3. Multiply the result in step 2 by the number of hours you would run the heater. If I ran mine for 8 hours, it would cost me $17.82.

Keep in mind that most heaters are not 100% efficient. Mine is 81% efficient, meaning that 324,000 BTU/hr go towards heating the pool. However, as far as the gas company is concerned, I am still burning 400,000 BTU/hr. Therefore, I would figure the temperature gain using 324,000 BTU, not the full 400,000. FWIW, I get a 2°F rise per hour in an uncovered pool with an outdoor temperature in the 50° to 60°F range with average wind speeds of 10 MPH (less than that on windier days, a little more on calm days).

 

[ps0303]

Here is a sight that you can find parts on.

http://www.parts4heating.com/Pool-Heate ... -s/965.htm

Four screws to remove and it pretty easy from that point on.